Morning Roundup (1/14/25) – Hail Risk

Good Morning! Today is Tuesday, January 14. Special Counsel Jack Smith said in a report that there would have been sufficient evidence to convict Donald Trump in a trial. Senators will question defense secretary pick Pete Hegseth today. Israel and Hamas are apparently close to a cease-fire agreement.
The Mortgage Note Reports
Weather Risks: In 2024, large hail played a role in a number of severe storms that caused more than $1 billion in losses. Writer Erin Flynn Jay has the story.
Rocket Rebrand: Rocket rolled out the first phase of a new brand identity designed to attract key buyer demographics and unite the company’s different arms.
PHH, HUD Settle: PHH Mortgage will reimburse 50k borrowers nearly $3.5 million to resolve allegations of illegal “pay-to-pay” charges.
Quote Of The Day
“[M]ortgage rates have rebounded after bottoming out around 6.1% and are now inching closer to a new psychological barrier, the 7% threshold.”
Mark Palim, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist

In other mortgage and housing news…

NAR Case Continues: The Supreme Court denied NAR’s appeal request, allowing the Department of Justice to reopen its investigation into the trade group’s practices.
LA Fires: Rep. Maxine Waters wants to reintroduce a bill requiring a study to evaluate wildfires and the response from the homeowners insurance market.
Bad Actors: A survey of rentals around LA revealed landlords may be gouging renters in the wake of the fire, with some properties priced between $10-20k a month.
Gov’t Action: HUD completed a $60M transaction with Atlanta to build affordable rentals; The GSEs reminded CA homeowners of disaster relief options like forbearance.
Price Growth Revs: Single-family home prices increased 5.8% from Q4 2023 to Q4 2024, an acceleration from the previous quarter, Fannie Mae said.
Possible Devastation: The CFPB found that hundreds of thousands of mortgages in the Southeast and Central Southwest are underinsured against flood risk.